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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.55:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer (RSDL 82:53)
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • Cantonese: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • Commentary - English: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
    English
  Extras
  • Theatrical trailer - Iron Monkey, Fist of Fury, Armour of God and Once Upon a Time in China.
  • Audio commentary - Bey Logan (Hong Kong Cinema Expert)
  • Cast/crew biographies
  • Photo gallery
  • Animated menus
  • Interviews - Jackie Chan
  • Filmographies - Animated Biography
  • Gag reel

Police Story - Special Collector's Edition

Fortune Star/Universal . R4 . COLOR . 96 mins . Universal . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Directed by and starring Jackie Chan, Police Story is a light-hearted action flick that has Jackie playing the lead role of Ka-Kui, a hapless Hong Kong cop with no fear. The film starts off with Ka-Kui and his squad on a stakeout with the intention of nabbing the local drug Kingpin, Chu Tu (Chor Yuen). After the arrest of Chu Tu, Ka-Kui is then assigned to look after the secretary of the alleged crime boss; Salina (Brigitte Lin) who was arrested at the scene and since been put into protective custody.

Ka-Kui’s task now is to obtain any additional information regarding Chu Tu’s criminal activities that the secretary may have been privy to. In order to lock the crime lord up once and for all. As you would expect, nothing goes to plan for young Ka-Kui as the secretary isn't as forthcoming as the police would like her to be, and her police protection isn't really wanted.

Naturally Chu Tu isn’t in a hurry to do any hard time and dispatches his henchmen in an effort to silence the secretary for good, before she divulges any information to the police. And at the same time, take out Ka-Kui.

This rather simple plot is basically the window dressing there to set up Chan’s next insane stunt or spectacular martial arts showdown, subsequently leading to the film’s spectacular grand finale, situated in a busy shopping mall. Jackie Chan almost met his maker whilst performing some of the stunts in this sequence and you can see why.

  Video
Contract

Police Story is presented in the aspect ratio of 2.55:1 (16:9 Enhanced), which is close to its original theatrical ratio of 2.35:1. The image is relatively sharp and the print used is for the most part free from dirt and damage.

The main problem with the transfer is the colour, which is somewhat faded. The overall brightness of the image also fluctuated throughout the feature. Black levels were a bit messy, suffering from poor shadow detail. There was some noticeable Telecine wobble.

  Audio
Contract

As was the norm for Hong Kong cinema at the time, the feature was filmed silent and later dubbed. For this release, the good folk at Hong Kong Legends have given us a Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 dub and an English Dolby Digital 5.1 dub that is accompanied by English subtitles. Both tracks make little use of the surrounds and the LFE channel, with most of the audio directed to the front mains while the dialogue is relegated to the centre channel.

Overall the soundstage sounded artificial, the voices used in both dubs sounding like they were recorded in a box and the sound effects suffered from heavy compression, lacking the dynamic range of modern movie sound effects. An obvious example being the gunshots that sound like something you would hear in an old western - ricochets and all!

  Extras
Contract

A reasonable selection of extras has been afforded for this release. First up there is an audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan. As I did on previous releases, I have found Mr. Logan’s commentaries on other Hong Kong Legends releases superb. He is the man! He packs in an incredible amount of information, sharing a wealth of knowledge about the film and its stars.

Next up we have an animated biography which runs for approximately 36 minutes and his no easy task to get through. It’s not that information isn’t informative it’s just the format in which it’s delivered isn't all that exciting to watch. Jackie’s bio is narrated while footage of his films is played on screen framed by stills that change during the presentation.

There is also a photo gallery that you can navigate through with your remote control and also a group of trailers that consist of two versions for Police Story; the first is for the release of the DVD, while the second is the original theatrical trailer. There are also trailers for other Hong Kong legends titles - Iron Monkey, Fist of Fury, Armour of God, & Once Upon a Time in China.

A brief outtakes montage which runs for 3 minutes includes an extended ending (previously available on the now deleted laser disc) featuring a different collection of goofs that are played over the end credits compared to what’s available on this release. Chan’s films often include this sort of footage over the end credits roll that usually consists of the actors stuffing up their lines or cues as well the mishaps that have often resulted in a near death experience for Chan while performing some of the stunts found in his films.

Rounding out the extras is an interview with Jackie Chan that runs for close to twenty minutes which has Chan talking about his stunt work in the film. It includes a visit to the location where he filmed the stunt in the shopping mall that almost killed him

  Overall  
Contract

Jackie Chan's Police Story is a decent action flick that features incredible martial arts action as well Chan's signature death defying stunts that he is well regarded for. While the premise of the film maybe a little simplistic, Jackie's slapstick humour and stunt work are definitely the highlights. Hong Kong Legends have provided a reasonable transfer and a small but detailed collection of extras that make this a purchase no Hong Kong cinephile should be without.


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      And I quote...
    "Police Story is a decent action flick that features incredible martial arts action as well as Chan's signature death defying stunts."
    - Anthony Bethell
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Sony DVP-NS780
    • Projector:
          Infocus 4805 DLP Projector
    • Screen:
          LP Morgan Galleria 95" 16:9 fixed screen
    • Receiver:
          Sony STR-DB795
    • Speakers:
          Sony SS-MF650HM
    • Centre Speaker:
          Sony CR550HM
    • Surrounds:
          Sony SS-550HM
    • Subwoofer:
          Sony SA-WM500M
    • Audio Cables:
          MaxCable Optical
    • Video Cables:
          MaxCable Component
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